Ice Cream Socialists is an indie pop band from Athens, Georgia, who first met in the autumn of 2005, just as the school year was beginning at the University. Through a series of fateful mishaps including a blackout and an ice cream social, what at first was a mismatched crew of eager musicians getting noise violations for playing too loud in a high rise dorm soon became a solid band playing shows around Athens. Ice Cream Socialists is known for their ecclectic sensibilities and strange lyrics, all while maintaining the accessability and sheen of pure pop. Lyrics range from bizarre, disenchanted fairytales (Rapunzel) to childhood ambitions of fireflies and astronauts (Day of the Danny). Their songs are unpredictable yet charming, combining the naivety of youth with sugary girl/boy harmonies with the likes of accordion and violin, garnering them the description from Flagpole magazine, "the enthralling treat you can eat between meals that won’t leave a bad taste in your mouth" (Ben Gerrard). Their influences include the Magnetic Fields and Of Montreal, but neither comparison is completely accurate. Ben Austin plays the keyboards and sings. He also dances and does some handclapping. Payton Bradford plays the drums. So does Jonathan Pride, but not at the same time. Talia Bromstad plays the accordion and sings. Stephanie Davis plays the violin and sings too. Brantley Jones plays the bass and sometimes guitar and sings. Charlie Key plays the guitar and the screwdriver, sometimes both at the same time. Perhaps their big break was opening for Tegan and Sara in November of 2005 at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse. Two months later, and not even a half year into their existence, they were wrapping up their first album, Belles & Missiles. Most recently, Ice Cream Socialists released their debut album Belles & Misslies, recorded January of 2006 with Chris Bishop at Radium Recording, at a release show on September 8. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.